Looks good. Curious how your cab corners fit. I just did a pair on my 77 and had to modify them quite a bit. The drivers side in particular, was almost 1" too wide so I had to reform the flange for the B pillar. After that both fit all right.

The passenger side had an incorrectly aligned "bead" around the outside edge to match the cab but was otherwise a better fit.

I always expect to do some fitting, just curious if you found some that fit better than mine.

 

They both fit pretty well as far as the overall shape. They were just a little too deep on the back side of the cab. You can see it in the passenger side picture.

These were from JBG. The new one I ordered for the driver's side after my screw-up is from tabco. I've heard good things about them - hopefully it will fit well. I didn't order from them originally because they were out of stock at the time.

 

Thanks! I have to do my 73 yet (probably not until the spring) so I'll check out JBG and Tabco - the ones I got like I say, I'm happy with the end result and it's really hard to find aftermarket sheetmetal that "just fits" but I'm glad to try some alternative suppliers. Up where I'm at I have to pay shipping and customs charges no matter where I get it from, so... I'll at least hope for something that saves some time at the end of the day

Gorgeous truck and great write up!

 

Haven't been working too much on the truck lately. The replacement piece from Tabco seemed to be about the same quality as JBG. It also was too deep on the back side toward the cab. But, I got it lined up better and tacked in.

I also started the process of filler work on the driver's cab corner. Still have a ways to go, but here is a shot I took during the first pass:



The passenger side has been giving me some fits. I have been struggling with blow-through near the inner edge (close to the frame), and I had one spot that warped a bit on the backside.



I don't have much body work experience, but I am having fun learning things. It is a pretty zen process.

An another note, I have been looking into lift options for the truck. I was leaning toward the superflex springs from JBG, made by Deaver. I have a friend who has these on his rig, and they sure ride nice. The full lift kits from JBG are out of stock. I don't mind piecing them together, but when I look at the leaf springs and the coil springs separately, they only offer the rear leaf springs in 4" and coil springs in a 5".

Then, when I go to Deaver's site, I don't even see any options for coil springs other than for Jeeps. I guess I'll call them directly.

Any other suggestions on good springs? I really just want the nicest ride possible. Maybe some mild wheeling here and there, but nothing too serious. That's what I have my Land Cruiser for. I'm thinking 4-5" of lift will be good - that combined with 35s is a nice stance, IMO.

 

I'm no pro either, just welded a lot of panels as a hobby over the last 30 years now. FWIW What I find works well if it's blowing through and you don't want to cut more out, take some scrap sheet metal or even 1/8" rod (old coat hangers are actually great) and weld those into the hole as a filler. It helps (I've always found) to limit the heat going into the thinner metal. My experience only, others may have other solutions.

 

I think Deaver makes a very good product. I have run them in the past and would do so again.

I can say the biggest difference in ride is not the springs but the dampers.

Get adjustable dampers and sell the ones that come with the JBG kits..or maybe you can get adjustables as part of your lift kit.

 

Oh, I definitely won't use their shocks. I'm a big fan of ADS shocks. I've run them on my last 2 trucks. Rebuildable, adjustable - and wonderful. I'm going to see if I can get something custom from them. If not, I'll look for some other similar options.



Thanks for the input.

 

I installed cheap Rancho single adjustables on my 3/4 ton over the winter and was "shocked" (<-see what I did there) at the difference that could be created with damper adjustments.

 

I got the cab corners mostly smoothed out - enough for some epoxy. I'll do final smoothing later as I get closer to paint.

I started diving into the rust repair on the passenger side floorboard. As always, there was more than I expected:







And in other news, we are heading down tomorrow to pick up a new truck for my son. We took a look at it last weekend and it's a beaut! 1986 F350 4X4 with a 460:

 

that's me. I'm the son. Been helping out with the project when I'm not at school or working. I'll be on here every so often. Just popping in to finally say hi.

 

Just read the whole thread.
Curious about the headlights. My 77 Custom has round lights. I thought it wasn’t until late 78-79 that they changed. Did grandpa do it?

 

Grandpa put the front clip from my old 79 on the front. That is the reason for the headlight difference. I'll be switching back to the 77 grille with round headlights - I prefer that look.

 

Yep, he's been helping a ton on the 77 project. And he's going to get busier with his new 86 which is needing some attention. It's a damn nice ride.

 

That’s a nice looking Bullnose. Taught him well.

 

Work on the truck has slowed a bit as we have been diving more into my son's Bullnose. The PO left us a few interesting things to remedy on that one.

Anyway, I got the cab corners done enough for now and am continuing the repair of passenger side floor. I also sourced a 460 that I can hopefully go down and pick up in the next couple of weeks.